About Indian Civil Service

Indianisation of the superior Civil Services became one of the major demands of the political movement compelling the British Indian Government to consider setting up of a Commission for recruitment to its services in the territory. The first Public Service Commission was set up on October 1st, 1926. However, its limited advisory functions failed to satisfy the people’s aspirations and the continued stress on this aspect by the leaders of our freedom movement resulted in the setting up of the Federal Public Service Commission under the Government of India Act 1935. Under this Act, for the first time, provision was also made for the formation of Public Service Commissions at the provincial level.

The Constituent Assembly, after independence, saw the need for giving a secure and autonomous status to Public Service Commissions both at Federal and Provincial levels for ensuring unbiased recruitment to Civil Services as also for protection of service interests. With the promulgation of the new Constitution for independent India on 26th January, 1950, the Federal Public Service Commission was accorded a constitutional status as an autonomous entity and given the title – Union Public Service Commission Constitutional Provisions.

The Union Public Service Commission has been established under Article 315 of the Constitution of India. The Commission consists of a Chairman and nine Members.

The terms and conditions of service of Chairman and Members of the Commission are governed by the Union Public Service Commission (Members) Regulations, 1969.

The Commission is serviced by a Secretariat headed by a Secretary with two Additional Secretaries, a number of Joint Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries and other supporting staff.

The Union Public Service Commission have been entrusted with the following duties and role under the Constitution:
Recruitment to services & posts under the Union through conduct of competitive examinations;

Recruitment to services & posts under the Central Government by Selection through Interviews;

Advising on the suitability of officers for appointment on promotion as well as transfer-on-deputation;

Advising the Government on all matters relating to methods of Recruitment to various services and posts;

Disciplinary cases relating to different civil services; and

Miscellaneous matters relating to grant of extra ordinary pensions, reimbursement of legal expenses etc.

The major role played by the Commission is to select persons to man the various Central Civil Services and Posts and the Services common to the Union and States (viz. All-India Services).

RECRUITMENT TO VARIOUS SERVICES AND POSTS

To Duties & Role of the Commission
Under Article 320 of the Constitution of India, the Commission are, inter-alia, required to be consulted on all matters relating to recruitment to civil services and posts.

Recruitment is made by one of the following three methods:

*

Direct Recruitment;
*

Promotion
*

Transfer


Direct Recruitment is conducted broadly under the following two methods:

*

Recruitment by competitive examination.
*

Recruitment by selection through interview.

Recruitment by competitive examination.
Under the Constitution one of the functions of the Commission is to conduct examinations for appointment to Civil Services/Posts of the Union. In addition, competitive examinations are also held by the Commission under arrangements with the Ministry of Defence for entry to certain Defence Services, through the National Defence Academy, Indian Military Academy, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and the Officers Training Academy.

The Commission usually conducts over a dozen examinations every year on an all India basis. These include Examinations for recruitment to services/posts in various fields, such as Civil Services, Engineering, Medical and Forest Service, etc.

For an overview of examinations regularly held by the Commission. See "Overview of Examination" under this Chapter.
At present the Union Public Service Commission conduct their examinations at numerous venues spread over 42 regular centers throughout the country.
Recruitment by selection
Recruitment by Selection is made by the following methods:

* By Interview Only
*

By Recruitment Test Followed By Interview

By Interview Only
Where the number of applicants is very large, it is not practicable to call for Interview all the applicants who fulfill the minimum eligibility conditions prescribed. The Commission, therefore, shortlist the candidates to be called for the interview on the basis of certain pre-determined criteria related to the job. A large number of recruitment cases is handled by the Commission by the method (1) above.

By Recruitment Test Followed By Interview
In this category, there are two types of procedure followed:
An objective-type written and/or practical test to test the skill of the candidates followed by Interview, the final selection being decided by Interview, aided by the performance of the candidates in the written test and/or practical test.

An objective-type written and/or practical test to screen candidates to be called for interview, the final selection being decided by Interview only.
Appointment By Promotion And Transfer On Deputation/Transfer
In accordance with the procedure decided by the Government, in consultation with the Commission, Chairman or a Member of the Commission presides over the Departmental Promotion Committee Meetings to consider promotions from Group B to Group A and from one grade to another within group A, where promotion is to be made by Selection.

Deputation
The Recruitment Rules for a number of posts provide for appointment by Transfer on Deputation (including short term contract) and Transfer. When the field of consideration consists of Central Government as well as State Government officers, prior consultation with the Commission is necessary for selection of an officer. When the file for consideration is made more broad-based and consists of not only Central/State Government officers but also officers from Non-Government Institutions, the selection has to be made in consultation with the Union Public Service Commission.

All India Services
The All India Services Act, 1951 and Rules and Regulations framed thereunder regulate the recruitment and conditions of service in respect of the All India Services viz. Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service.
As far as direct recruitment to the Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service Examination are concerned, it is done through the Civil Services Examination and for the Indian Forest Service through the Indian Forest Service Examination held by the Commission.
The relevant Rules and Regulations provide that 33% of the vacancies in the IAS/IPS/IFS should be filled by promotion from amongst the officers of the State Service in consultation with the Commission. The Selection Committee presided over by Chairman/Member of the Commission consists of senior Government representatives of the Central Government and the State.

List of Civil Service
The different services to which recruitment is done every year through the Civil Services Examination (CSE) are:
1. Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service, Group ‘B’ (Assistant Civilian Staff Officer's Grade)
2. Central Secretariat Service, Group ‘B’ (Section Officer’s Grade)
3. Custom Appraisers’ Service, Group ‘B’
4. Delhi and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service, Group ‘B’
5. Delhi and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service, Group ‘B’
6. Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
7. Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Group ‘A’
8. Indian Civil Accounts Service, Group ‘A’
9. Indian Customs and Central Excise Service Group ‘A’
10. Indian Defence Accounts Service, Group ‘A’
11. Indian Defence Estates Service Group ‘A’
12. Indian Foreign Service (IFS)
13. Indian Information Service (Junior Grade), Group ‘A’
14. Indian Ordinance Factories Service, Group ‘A’ (Assistant Manager, Non-technical)
15. Indian P & T Accounts & Finance Service, Group ‘A’
16. Indian Police Service (IPS)
17. Indian Postal Service, Group ‘A’
18. Indian Railway Personnel Service, Group ‘A’
19. Indian Railway Traffic Service, Group ‘A’
20. Indian Revenue Service, Group ‘A’
21. Indian Trade Service, Group ‘A’ (Grade-III)
22. Pondicherry Civil Service, Group ‘B’
23. Posts of Assistant Commandant, Group ‘A’ in Central Indus-trial Security Force
24. Posts of Assistant Security Officer, Group ‘A’ in Railway Protection Force
25. Posts of Deputy Superintendent of Police, Group ‘A’ in the Central Bureau of Investigation
26. Railway Board Secretariat Service, Group ‘B’ (Section Officer’s Grade

Job Prospects
Depending upon his rank, a candidate is recruited to services such as the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and other departments including Finance, Post and Telegraph, Revenue, Secretariat and so on. The appointment offers executive power. Promotions are time bound and increase in privileges are automatic. Selected candidates are first put through a training session for a short period. He is usually sent to an academic staff college associated with the service to which he is allocated. The greatest thing about civil service is the job security. Special facilities include subsidised accommodation, telephone and transport facilities, medical benefits, leave travel concession, etc. After retirement, there are very good social welfare facilities. Last but not the least is the immense satisfaction one derives at being able to participate in the development process of the country.
Remuneration
The Government of India has fixed salary grades for Civil Servants. Approximately the range of salaries drawn at various levels is as follows:
Junior Officers: Rs. 8000-275-13500
Senior Officers: Rs. 10650-325-15200
Junior Administrative Grade: Rs. 12,750-375-16,500
Selection Grade: Rs. 15,100-400-18,300
Additional Secretary: Rs. 22400-525-24500
Secretary/Cabinet Secretary: Rs. 26,000/30,000
(The above scales only provide an idea of the pay scales. Different branches of the service have different scales of pay.)

In addition to the salary civil servants receive various allowances such as Dearness Allowance, City compensatory Allowance, Leave Travel Allowance, Medical and subsidised housing.

Fee: The fee for the exam is Rs 50, to be paid through Central Recruitment Fee stamps available at post offices. The post office must cancel the stamps so that the impression of the cancellation stamp partially overflows on the application form. Instruments such as postal orders, drafts and such are not accepted and candidates should only send the fee through the Recruitment Fee stamps. Candidates belonging to the scheduled castes and physically handicapped persons are not required to pay any fee.